Hebrew, who knew?
by Pugnatious
Summary: Has anyone ever pondered the various religions of the Teen Titans? Well, this is my take on it.
1. Chapter 1

**I haven't written in a while, so bare with me. Also, I had to combine 2 chapters to make this one longer. Hope it makes it better.**

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It all started on Tuesday, December 8, 2015. Snow was falling gently on the masses of Jump city. With the Christmas holiday fast approaching, not one person was more excited or better prepared than the Teen Titans. Cyborg was hard at work setting up a spectacular light show for when it got dark. Robin was flipping through their numerous Christmas albums as though it actually mattered what they listened to. Starfire hummed contentedly as she hung popcorn and tinsel from every available surface. And Beastboy dutifully rounded up all of the stockings and began preparing for their annual name drawing tradition. They would each draw a name from a Santa hat and get a gift for whoever they drew. This made the holidays so much more organized. The only one who did not participate in this activity was Raven who kept to herself, during the month of December, more so than usual.

Speaking of, by now you are wondering where Raven is, during all of this, considering this story is about her. Unconcerned with the season to be jolly, Raven was calmly walking down the hall to the common room while munching on a bag of almonds. As she breezed into the room and made her way into the kitchen, Cyborg walked in with the mail. Among the normal letters, bills, and police reports; there was a small package for an unusual person. "Um, Raven, there's a package for you."

Raven wasn't confused by this and she crossed the room and took the cardboard box that had her name on it. There was a slight lull in the activities as she allowed a small grin to adorn her face. "Congratulations, you just made my day." With an uncharacteristic spring in her step, she rushed out and left the rest of the team scratching their collective heads.

Starfire was not deterred. "Is it not wondrous for friend Raven to be so joyous today?"

Beastboy was less enthusiastic. "Well, I was gonna say 'freaky', but-"

"That's enough out of you." With a Christmas cookie and an annoyed glare, Cyborg effectively cut off and quieted the green teen in both defense of his adoptive little sister and to save him from further stupidity. "Ain't it a good thing that Raven's finally happy around Christmastime? We are supposed to be her friends, right?"

Robin's brows furrowed as he examined the back of an album. "Of course it's a good thing that she's happy, but you've got to admit that it's a little bit weird. A smile from her is like if you just burst into song for no apparent reason." (He totally does that in the car by the way)

The utterance that Cyborg would have responded with never had the chance to make it out of his mouth. (... Utter) Almost as though the universe was tired of the conversation at hand, or the writer needed to end the scene abruptly, the sirens and flashing red lights that signaled a mission took everyone's mind off of Raven's unexpectedly good mood.

* * *

It was almost midnight when the team trudged into the tower and shook the snow and dust from their clothes. Plasmus, Cinder-block and Red X had given them all a run for their money in a back-to-back-to-back battle which had, of course, put Robin in a foul mood. As they all slumped onto the couch for a moment of rest, Cyborg tried to lift their spirits. "How about we go ahead and draw names before we go to bed? We should end the day on a high note."

Even as he spoke, smiles began reappearing but everyone paused when Robin spoke. "I think that we should put Raven's name in there, this year."

Raven only froze for a moment before quickly digging her hands in the pockets of her jeans and producing two, darkly-colored rings. Only after slipping one onto each hand did she make to reply. "Robin," she began calmly, "I respect your opinion, but you know I don't do Christmas."

Robin was too grumpy and agitated to hear the dangerous tone underlying her voice, but everyone else had the sense to move their butts out of the way. "I think it's time for you to start, who knows, you might even end up liking it."

With defiance practically rolling off her in waves, Raven stood and fixed her arrogant leader with a steely glare. "It's not about me liking it. I've got nothing against Christmas!"

Now Robin stood and they were having an official argument. "Then why do you refuse to spend Christmas with your friends?" He was close to yelling. "Is there a reason behind it or do you just enjoy being difficult?!"

"Oh! So, now you want to talk! Not seven years ago when you guys were opening presents and I was in my room alone!" Her voice was dangerously loud, as well.

"Why didn't you say something, then, if you wanted to talk?" His volume lowered slightly.

Her volume, however, did no such thing. "Like you would have listened in the first place!"

"Well I'm listening, now! What on Earth could be keeping you from celebrating a traditional holiday?" He was more confused than angry, by now.

In a fit of rage, Raven rips off her rings and shouts "I'm jewish, damn it!" before disappearing in a swirl of black magic.

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 **Yes, that argument escalated way too quickly. Yes, Raven is Jewish. I stand by my statement. Also, I promise to explain the significance of the rings(XD Lord of the Rings) and how Red X comes into play soon. Criticism, constructive or otherwise, is always welcome, and any Jewish tidbits that you think I should know would help, too. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it's late, but there are too many excuses for me to give just one.**

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Small tufts of snow lazily down from the sky to rest on the back of the still form that rested on the rooftop of the Jump City Deli. A cross between upset and exhausted, Raven realized that she was lying face down in the snow but could not conjure up a single crap to give about it at the moment. One part of her mind rationalized that her friends not knowing her religion was not really that big of a deal, but another part of her argued that seven whole years is a long time for her only friends to care enough to finally stop and ask. Did she really distance herself from her friends so much that they didn't care or was that just one of those things that they chose to ignore like when she suggested that they not watch a movie that gives people nightmares? She was soon aware of hesitant steps coming toward her but made no move to either acknowledge or dismiss whoever it was. Then there were a few moments of silence in which Raven estimated that the person was about a foot away before the synthesized voice of Red X cut through the quiet that surrounded them. "That's got to be the best way to get frostbite I've ever seen, Sunshine."

Her answering sigh was both muffled and frustrated at the same time. "I am so not in the mood right now, X."

As she usually sounded monotone and emotionless, he could tell that she miffed if he hadn't already figured it out from her icy face plant. "What's got you so much downer in the dumps than usual? This isn't the same brand of a cold demeanor that we all know and tolerate." He crouched down beside her and tilted his head to try and see her face before adding "Pun intended."

"What do you care? Why don't you mind your own business and let me let the snow bury me up to my eyebrows." Not exactly the best response, but he wasn't exactly her best friend either.

He couldn't help but be condescending when she spoke like that. "Come on now, Sunshine, the Teen Titans are a large part of my life. You guys are more than half the reason I even wear this suit. Now tell your old pal, X, what's wrong." What he said was true: If the Titans weren't their to fight him, his job would become much more tedious. He sat down beside her in lotus position and waited for an answer with much more patience than her actual friends would have.

Finally lifting up her head and facing him, she posed a deep though confusing philosophical question. "To what degree of familiarity are people who are constituted as 'friends' supposed to learn about one another in an expansive time of seven years?"

If you've ever heard TV static you know the exact sound that was going off in X's mind. "And so in English your question would be?" He wasn't slow, but this was not the most comprehensive of instances of Raven's communicative skills.

This was not the jokingly-sarcastic-somewhat-insulting-tone that Beastboy used when he didn't quite understand something but didn't really care what it meant. No, this was an honest question that was fully expected to be answered. So odd was it that he was sincere that Raven couldn't help but chuckle as she finally sat up and properly faced him. "Okay, let's try this: How many years would it take for you to wonder what religion one of your only friends follows?"

Red X was surprised by the seriousness with which she addressed him and gave great thought to the quandary she posed before answering. "Well, it might take a year or two all things considered. You were talking- what?- seven years? That's a bit of a stretch to be honest. You mind giving out a few more details or are we gonna stay hypothetical here?"

Whatever Raven was about to say next was cut short by the off-time tune of Mr. Roboto playing from the communicator attached to her belt. As she answered it and revealed that it was Cyborg who was calling her, Red X couldn't help but think it odd for her to have picked such a stupid ringtone. "What?" There was a pause in which Raven rolled her lavender eyes. "I'm not mad I'm just annoyed." Another pause. "We'll talk about it when I get home... Yes, within the hour... Make me something to eat before I get back or I'll smack you upside the head so hard it'll take an hour to re-calibrate your eye."

Throughout this entire conversation Red X had been pantomiming everything that Raven said but he paused when she said that she would smack Cyborg's head. With a mockingly horrified expression that shined out through his mask like a searchlight on an albino and Raven once again found herself giving a chuckle at this wanted criminal that she had been conversing with on top of a deli at almost one in the morning before responding to a question from Cyborg on the other end of the communicator. "No. Who am I going to be talking to this early in the morning? I'm currently sitting on the roof of a deli." She sighed. "Look, I'm just going to come home. I'll see you in a bit." She didn't seem to wait for a response and closed device with a decisive attitude.

"So what's the scoop, Sunshine? You gonna get things straightened out?" He stood up as he spoke.

Nodding she answered, "As much as I can I suppose." She also tried to stand but her shoes just didn't have the right traction for snow and she kind of just fell back down onto her blue-clad butt. It was not the most graceful of moments. Laughingly, X helped her up. She thanked him with as much of a straight face as she could muster and left without another word.

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 **I hope it was at least half worth the wait.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, I am so behind. Sorry.**

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"Okay, Starfire, let's go over this again." Robin had been trying to explain what Judaism was to Starfire for the past ten minutes despite the fact that he had little to no grasp of the religion himself. It was sad.

"Robin, just stop before you hurt yourself." Raven walked into the room with a slightly amused expression on her face because he looked hopelessly frustrated at the moment.

She was so quiet when she came in that she scared the pants off of Beastboy and he now said from behind the couch, "Raven, dude, how do you even do that?!" He knew that she was quiet but he really should have heard the swish of her cloak with his enhanced hearing.

"Magic." She deadpanned before coolly sliding into a seat at the table across from Robin and Starfire and addressing them as if she was some kind of sarcastic school teacher. "Now then, let's discuss today's topic of interest. First, does anyone have any questions?" Starfire's hand shot up into the air. "Yes, Starfire?"

The happy redhead always enjoyed it when Raven played school, but her question was a serious one. "Friend Raven are you still upset at us?" She hated seeing any of her friends unhappy and hated it even more when they were fighting among themselves.

She sighed. "No, Star, I think I'm good." Cyborg came and set a plate of rice and beans in front of her before sitting down in the adjacent seat. "Thanks."

"So, now that we've got some time, how about we talk?" Cyborg knew that when she said that she was 'good' it really meant that she was pushing her emotions aside and trying to be stronger than she actually was. Talking, he hoped, would allow her to address the issue at hand.

She nodded. "Yeah, let's start with questions." She picked up her fork and pointed at Robin. "You first, shoot." And then she took a bite of rice.

Robin paused, trying to think of a delicate way to ask his questions without upsetting Raven again. "Okay... So what do you usually celebrate instead of Christmas?"

"Hanukkah." She answered. "You know: candles, menorahs, dreidels." She wasn't looking at him but at the two rings that she had again put onto one finger of each hand.

"Okay." Robin nodded. "So how, exactly, do you celebrate Hanukkah? What do you do?"

Now Starfire asks as well. "Oh yes, friend Raven, please do teach us of this delightful sounding holiday."

Beastboy, fully-clothed and intent on entering the conversation, stepped up to the table and said, "So what's a dreidel?"

Having only finished half of the food on her plate, Raven pushed it aside and stood. "Okay. If we're going to play school then I'll need a few props." She exited the room and returned a few minutes later with a box full of traditional objects. "Let's start with the menorah."

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Red X smiled as he walked home from the deli with a package of fresh-cut cheddar. He was in the habit of visiting the local deli in the small hours of the morning to chat with the guy on night shift and been pleasantly surprised when he'd noticed Raven landing on the roof but her facial expression had alarmed him. Thankfully, he'd had his suit handy in his backpack and was able to go up and see if she was alright. Red X harbored a special soft spot for Raven because he was in the habit of chatting with her online using his secret identity to protect himself. They had first met online about two years ago through a Hebrew-oriented social network and, even though she had imputed her name as Rachel Roth, he had immediately known that it was Raven by her photo. At first, he had only began the acquaintance to try and learn more about the titans in general but he soon found himself enjoying their conversations and they had even Skyped a few times. He knew that her situation at the tower was rocky at best (though she was always careful to avoid mentioning her occupation and home) and she had once expressed a wish to leave if it were possible. "So why don't you?" he'd asked her.

She'd sighed before answering, this having been one of the few times that they had used Skype, "Honestly? If it weren't for my job I probably would but I can't just up and go. Besides, it's not like I have anywhere else to be."

Shrugging back, he then asked, "If you could, though, where would you go? What would you do?"

He remembered the wistful expression on her face and her exact words by heart. "What I really want is a home in the country with a white picket-fence. I'd probably get a job as a teacher or go into veterinary science or something simple like that." Then she shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe it's a stupid dream."

He'd given her a really cheesy Hallmark response like "There's no such thing as a stupid dream." and that had made her smile.

Red X cleared his mind of flashbacks once he finally reached his house and the first thing he did when he got in was put up the cheese that he had left to get in the first place. He made his way to his bedroom, shedding his clothing as he went, until he finally collapsed on his bed wearing nothing but his boxers. The last thing he thought about before falling asleep was whether or not Raven had received the chakra rings that he had sent her a few days ago as a Hanukkah.


	4. Chapter 4

**Angel_of_Darkness has sent you an invitation on Skype.**

Red X stretched for a moment before clicking the accept button on his computer and Raven's tired face popped up on his screen. She smiled when she saw his dark brown eyes and friendly grin and rolled her eyes when he said, "Well good morning, beautiful." He loved complimenting her because she always looked kind of embarrassed to hear his praise and it was refreshing to see that in a woman.

"Good morning, Alexander." She wasn't big on nicknames.

"So how have you been, sweetheart? I haven't seen you in a while." He had been pulling on a white T-shirt while he spoke and he moved his damp brown hair out of his eyes to look into her inquisitive lavender orbs.

She shrugged. "I just spent the last few hours explaining Judaism to my four roommates. I think they got the gist of what I said, but I was pretty sleep-deprived so it's possible that I was less intelligible than I remember."

He chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck in a familiar sleepy gesture. "Maybe you should go to bed, then, hon. It's no use trying to figure things out if you don't have the right amount of sleep for it." He knew that she had a habit of pushing herself too hard and tried his best to make sure she took care of herself. At any other time, she was Raven: the Titan but, when it was just the two of them, she was Rachel: his friend and he took responsibility of her because it felt like no one else would help her if he didn't.

She shook her head. "I think I'll just hit up the cafe. It's been too long since I've had a good cup of herbal tea."

He shook his head back. "What you really need is a vacation. Not just any old week-end stay, either, but a full-fledged month-long get-away vacation." She rolled her eyes again. "I'm serious. You need time to get some rest, take a break from whatever kind of work that has you so stressed, and just enjoy life without having to worry about anything but how you're going to make the most out of all your free time."

She sighed, stress-fully rubbing her face with both hands. "I don't take vacations. I never have before and I probably never will. My work is my life, Alexander, there is literally nothing else for me." Though she would never admit it, the other (and main) reason that Raven never wanted to take a vacation was that she wouldn't feel right going anywhere alone because she felt that she didn't know enough about normal society to pass off as a regular person.

Alexander was thoughtful for a moment. He really cared about Rachel and he wanted to help her in any way that he could but there was always a line that the both of them stayed away from to keep their identities safe from the other. On the other side of that line were things like meeting face-to-face or mentioning what they did for a living, though they had both admitted to living in Jump City, and she wisely censored the names of the other Titans whenever she said anything about them. He had the beginnings of an idea in his mind, a stupid and potentially dangerous idea, but he needed to run it through to someone else before he told Rachel so he could work out all the bugs. Then he remembered that he was still on Skype. "Hey. I've got to go. I think I'm late to meet a friend of mine. I'll see you again sometime later, okay Rachel?"

She cocked her head to the side at the use of her actual name as opposed to the usual fond moniker but didn't comment on it. "Um... Okay. See you later."

They both signed out and Alexander almost immediately grabbed his cell and called his cousin Seth who also lived in Jump. Seth was the kind of guy who loved giving advice to anyone who would listen and would always answer his phone on the first two rings so it wasn't surprising when his cheerful voice sprung out of the device. "Hey, Alex, how's it going?"

Seth was way too happy to be awake at six in the morning but Alex tried to be nice. "Hey, man. Let me run something by you real quick."

"Okay. Shoot."

* * *

Raven's brows drew together in a puzzled expression as she shut down her laptop, wondering what Red X had been thinking about just a few moments ago. She had known that Alexander was really Red X from the first time they had gotten on Skype and she had felt his familiar energy, she was not an idiot, though she been trying to figure out why he had seemed like someone that she had met before since they had begun messaging each other. For a few weeks after that, she had avoided talking to him because she had been worried that he had only started the acquaintance to study the Titans and their weaknesses and she didn't want to have to explain to the others that she had been talking to a known criminal online to escape her hectic life. She also hated the thought of someone pretending to be her friend for their own personal gain and she didn't want to be burned, not again. Then one day, she logged onto her computer and received a message from him saying, 'Hey. You don't have to message me back or anything and I'm sorry if I'm bugging you but I just got word that my dad died in prison the other day and I'm not sure how I should be handling it. I didn't really know him that well but he did some pretty messed up stuff. I know that my mom loved him but she's not around anymore either so I have no idea how she would take the news. I don't know what I should do but I feel better telling someone about it.'

She hadn't even hesitated in answering 'Forgive your dad for the decisions that he made, visit his grave if you can, but don't try to forget. Remember that your mom did love him and, at least at one point, he loved her back. Try to think of him fondly, mourn him for however long that you think he deserves, and be glad that he lived because he gave you a life of your own.'

A few minutes of no activity went by and Raven remembers wondering if she had overstepped herself in her reply and had almost resolved to send an apology when another message popped up. 'I legit just cried a little. Thank you so much. Sorry about unloading all this on you and all but you're really really great for helping me out. Thanks again.'

She had no idea if this had been a rouse or if he had been telling the truth but from that day on she had made a point of talking to him and making sure that he was feeling okay. She also felt relieved that when she spoke with him he refrained from asking personal questions about her living situation and occupation. Thus, through conversational dancing and many long hours staring at a screen, their friendship flourished.


End file.
